EconomyMarkets
HDFC Bank leads ₹1.56 lakh crore slide in India's ten most valued firms
Eight of the ten largest listed companies lost value in a four-session week of selling. TCS and L&T were the only gainers, and the whole BSE shed ₹20.79 lakh crore.
Key points
- The ten most valued companies lost a combined ₹1,55,671.9 crore in market value last week.
- HDFC Bank fell furthest, shedding ₹55,506.95 crore as its shares dropped about 5%.
- TCS and L&T were the only two of the ten to add value.
Eight of India’s ten most valuable listed companies lost a combined ₹1,55,671.9 crore in market value last week, as a broad sell-off dragged the benchmarks down across a holiday-shortened week of four sessions.
The Sensex fell 1,605.44 points, or 2.15%, over the week and the Nifty lost 546.15 points, or 2.36%. The damage was wider than the top ten. The market value of all companies listed on the BSE fell by ₹20.79 lakh crore, from ₹472.62 lakh crore on 16 October to ₹451.83 lakh crore.
Banks and lenders hit hardest
HDFC Bank was the biggest loser. Its shares fell about 5% and its market value dropped by ₹55,506.95 crore to ₹10.67 lakh crore. Bajaj Finance gave up ₹34,180.51 crore to ₹5.77 lakh crore.
Reliance Industries, still the country’s most valuable company, lost ₹27,065.08 crore and ended the week at ₹16.10 lakh crore. Life Insurance Corporation shed ₹21,062.24 crore to ₹4.81 lakh crore.
The smaller falls were at Bharti Airtel, down ₹9,360.75 crore to ₹11.79 lakh crore, State Bank of India, down ₹4,338.46 crore to ₹8.83 lakh crore, Infosys, down ₹2,881.38 crore to ₹4.69 lakh crore, and ICICI Bank, which slipped ₹1,276.53 crore to ₹10.02 lakh crore.
Two gainers
Tata Consultancy Services bucked the trend, adding ₹23,517.56 crore to reach ₹9.15 lakh crore. Larsen & Toubro gained ₹1,788.66 crore to ₹5.02 lakh crore. L&T reports its September-quarter results this week.
By market value, Reliance remains first, followed by Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, SBI, Bajaj Finance, L&T, LIC and Infosys.
What comes next
The slide came in a week when foreign investors kept selling and Brent crude closed Friday at its highest level since April. Markets reopen on Monday facing interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan, along with results from heavyweights including L&T, Maruti Suzuki and Hindustan Unilever.